Citizen initiative submitted to enhance control of mining

The parliament on Tuesday received a civic initiative calling for stricter regulation to grant permits to mine developers, local media reported.

Complaining that a mining permit could be issued even before an environmental permit is granted, the campaigners demanded a comprehensive legislation which should require the developers to reach environmental and technical criteria at the same time.

They also asked for "proper" compensation. Jukka Leppanen, one of the initial signatories of the initiative, told national radio, Yle that landowners should get a compensation in line with the constitutional protection of property.

Currently, the ore belongs to the mining operator and the landowner gets 0.15 percent of the calculated value of metallic mining minerals excavated annually.

The civic campaign to collect signatures started last winter, in the wake of a series of environmental damages reported by the media in recent years.

The initiative presented on Tuesday has garnered 60,000 signatures and thus, according to Finnish norm, must be processed in the parliament.

The MPs can either dismiss it or launch reforms suggested in the initiative, although the process could take several months.